Mama Bird
by Lecco
Summary: After the fall of SHIELD, Clint had extra time on his hands. But, when Steve issues a mission to find the Winter Soldier, they bump into an old foe who enchants the team. Barton, on the other hand arrives late to the party, and finds himself babysitting five miniature Avengers.
1. Chapter 1: Late to the Party

Chapter One: Late to the Party

* * *

The week feels so long, even though the days feel short. Does that even make any sense? Barton, you must be losing it.

Ever since SHIELD had been compromised by HYDRA, everything felt so disorientated. I guess I can be an assassin for hire on the side. But that sounds tiresome, I can simply snipe the target with an arrow in no time. I do need the money though… I'm bored to death.

"Gah, Tasha what are you doing?" I start to polish my arrows out of monotony. Man, do I love arrows.

Natasha sighs in detest, putting her binoculars away, "We're looking for someone." She rises from the ground and strides towards the car, as I stand in astonishment. Natasha Romanov, convoluted as always. Being partners for eons; you would think she would comprehend the fact I'm not a mind-reader.

"Okay, who is this someone?"

"You know the Winter Soldier?"

"The guy that has a thing for eyeliner? The HYDRA guy?"

"Bingo." Did she just say '_Bingo'_? Out of all the words, she chose '_Bingo'_.

"Bingo? What a diminutive vocabulary Tasha, for shame." All of a sudden, a flash of black blocks my field of vision and I'm instantly on the ground. She just threw my duffle bag at me. I look up to realize Natasha is furious; meaning a completely nonchalant expression. When you know Romanov for an elongated period of time, you can instantaneously read her emotions. It's all in the eyes.

"Walking home starts now Barton."

"Come on Tasha, it was a joke!" She starts to rev the car just before I could pull myself off the terrain.

"A three hour stroll to the Avenger stronghold doesn't sound consequently agonizing, may you have an engaging time." I can hear the venom leaking with every single word. As I hoist myself up, the vehicle is far from my grasp. I had no chance for catching up in time. Only the sounds of a car engine could be heard. Damn you Romanov, why must you be _pissy_ at the end of every month.

As I begin my way back home, my phone rings.

'_When __**Hawkeye **__throws his mighty __**arrow**__, all those who chose to oppose his mighty __**arrow**__-…'_

I remove my cellular device from my pocket. It was none other than the billionaire play boy himself. I'm certainly not in the mood for chatting. Although I haven't spoken to Tony for a while. I might as well answer the call.

"This is Hawkeye, agent of nothing. How may I be of service?" Chortles can be heard from the other end of the line.

"Raccoon Eyes is out on the streets. Cap requires the Avengers assemble."

"Oh? Why didn't he just call me himself?"

"He was all angsty when Romanov believed to have spotted him."

"Okay, I'll be there. Give me three hours."

"Cap ordered me to retrieve you, wait there. And Birdie, question. Why did Nat abandon you?"

"I sort of made fun of her vocabulary."

"You know, it is the last week of April."

"I couldn't resist. At least she did not stab me and leave me for dead."

"I'm sure if I pulled that stunt, I would've departed this world in a heartbeat. Clint, you are one lucky bastard." An uproar of gun shots resounds through the receiver. Not to mention Captain hollering commands.

"Tony, go help."

"Dude, I can't leave you-"

"Just go Stark. They need Iron Man."

"Humph, if you say so. When Spangles starts yelling at me, you're taking the blame."

"Sure, whatever. Cheerio FeMale."

Arriving fashionably late can be tolerable now and then. It's not too premature, or awfully tardy. On the other hand, arriving late to combat is a different array of distress. There is minor destruction in the city, nothing major. Simply, insufficient damaged cars, and fractured infrastructures, nothing Stark's coinage can't fix. However, something peculiar was midst the streets of New York; absolute stillness.

"Guys?" I advance to a dented car, supposing one of my teammates to scare the living crap out of me. There was no response. If this was a hoax, it's not funny.

Sighing in hindrance, I assume that the mission had been accomplished and my chums are already returning to Avengers Tower. The second I turn around, a figure stands before me. The Winter Soldier.

I unfasten my duffle bag, and equip my bow and arrow. I go into an attack stance; pointing an arrow at his masked face.

"Where are the Avengers?" The man paces towards my general area, "Nuh-uh, you stand back. Do not come any closer." He submits and walks backwards with caution.

"Good, now answer the questi-" The Winter Soldier vanishes. Oh no. Last time I heard, the soldier had no magical properties. Please do not tell me who I think it is.

"Up to more mischief, Loki?" I tense up as I feel the sharp edge of a blade on my neck, I dare not move a single muscle.

"Quite the contrary," He presses the blade closer to my skin, "The mischief has already been managed."

I ease as the knife lowers. He appears once again, and I fire an arrow for his face. Which in turn, he disappears. Loki reemerges, giving off his infamous laugh.

"You mortals are so predictable, have you not learned in our last battle?"

"Shut up," I shoot a new arrow, which was off aim. Shit, calm down Barton. You cannot think straight when you panic. Keep calm, "Why are you here?"

"Claiming what is rightfully mine. Although, I would fear more about your companions."

I'm becoming anxious with every second that pass. They can't be dead, my colleagues were too persistent to die. Even more so by the hand of Loki.

"Rather cute, despite being monstrosities."

"Wait, what?"

"Fair well Barton, till we meet again."

Loki leaves in a wisp of azure mist. I can deal with the god of mischief later. Seeking my friends comes first.

I fretfully search around the debris. Not a single sign of the team can be found. Until a shrill cry abruptly resonates from behind a tossed minivan. I sprint in that direction to discover my teammates settled on the road, all huddling together.

The previously mighty Avengers are now vulnerable children.

* * *

So, I haven't watched Thor: The Dark World yet. I don't know if Loki's presence here negates the ending, and all I know is that he was pretending to be Odin or something like that. A shame, I know.

Here is a link to Hawkeye's ringtone. It is amazing. watch?v=8SA_PTP_Sgw

Anyways, thanks Icecap for beta'ing my fic. You hella blessed.

Mini Avengers will officially make an appearance next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2: Juveniles

Chapter Two: Juveniles

* * *

"Ow Bruce! Be gentle!" I'm guessing Tony was the one who screamed since Bruce was disinfecting a huge gash across his forearm.

"If you listened to Steve you wouldn't have this problem." Tony winces when Bruce continues to wipe the wound.

Surprisingly their clothes had shrunk along with their bodies, which makes no sense at all. Also, they looked exhausted, especially Cap, who was engaging in a deep conversation with Natasha. Not a single one of them noticed my presence.

"Huh, I guess you guys got this mission under control," I say.

"Clinton!" Screams Thor as he runs up to me with his arms wide open. Just as Thor tackles my legs, I stagger back from impact. "Hey Thor," I reply. Thor releases my limbs, displaying a wide grin.

The rest of the group raise their heads in unison like creepy robots. Well, that was kind of uncanny.

"Hey Legolas," Stark winces again.

"Tony! Please sit still," Bruce instructs.

Tasha raises from the asphalt to walk over to me, and looks up. I tilt my head downwards to meet her glare, "You're late Barton," she places her hands on her hips, "Care to explain why?" Tasha is unusually cross right now.

If Natasha is angry with me, I can get angry too. "Well, you see, a certain person left me on the side of the road."

"Why didn't you take the free ride from Stark?"

"His expertise was needed on the field, and not as some concierge. You know it."

"You could've gotten injured, jeopardizing the team."

"But I didn't. I made it here in one piece."

We stare at each other; communicating with our eyes. Both of us come to a mutual understanding. Natasha was apprehensive over my well-being. While I was being a selfless dumbass.

"Fair enough," she says. Then she nudges my leg playfully.

"So what exactly happened while I was absent?"

Before anyone could answer my question, a flash of light caught our attention. News reporters, cameramen and all other people of the media were surrounding us. In each direction, words of uncomprehensive blabbering bombards our ears, as they push each other to get a direct answer. Captain tries to answer all their questions, but they kept directing them at me. I look at Steve giving him a pleading look, trying not to be the one to answer them, since I don't like handling these type of things—they give me a headache. He seems to know what I was trying to say, because he gave me a stern look while tilting his head sideways; suggesting that I be the one. The chosen one. Hah, nice reference Barton.

"Hawkeye, can you please explain the current situation as to why five of the Avengers are little kids?" The reporter was two inches into my personal bubble. Microphone, all up in my face.

"Woah, there. Personal space much?" She quietly apologizes and takes a few steps back, "All that happened had to do with magic—probably science. But, most likely science. Everything has to do with science." From the corner of my eye I could see Steve pinching the bridge of his nose, while shaking his head. Correspondingly, a pleased grin graces Tony's flabby face.

"I see, so-"

Tony interrupts before she can ask any further.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but our ride is here." The news reporter's face was so funny. She looked so annoyed by the fact that a mere kid was silencing her.

On middle of the road lays the Quinjet. The philanthropist must've contacted JARVIS. Thus, solving the problem of avoiding these lunatics. No offence to them; it has been such a long day.

"I'm sorry but we cannot answer any questions at this time," Steve announces to the crowd.

When we stride towards the aircraft, the crowd of reporters walk after us, continuing to assault us with even more questions. One had the nerve to start shouting at how rude we are being.

"How revolting," Thor comments.

"Indeed. The media often acts in impulsive ways," agrees Bruce.

Cap turns to face the horde of reporters for one last time.

"We thank you for your cooperation." The hatch of the jet closes.

"I assume I'll be driving." No one responds so I walk over to the cockpit and take a seat. Assuming that they are all seated, I start up the Quinjet and arise from the ground.

Just as I buckle my seatbelt, I turn around to see them all having an intense staring contest between one another. They all look like they're about to have some showdown. Even the atmosphere in here feels all intense.

"What are you munchkins doing? You should be in your seats," I say. No one is responding, does that mean that I have to stop this fight? Okay, I suppose I have to go over there if they are going to kill each other in the next second. I might stop the bloodshed and approximately 5 bruises.

"JARVIS, auto-pilot please," I say.

"I believe that would not be necessary, sir." What?

Two squeaky voices shout "Shot gun" in unison. Tony and Thor run towards the co-pilot seat, even pulling each other's hair to get first place. Bruce is wise enough to not deal with the nonsense, so he sits down and ignores the commotion. Steve sighs at their immaturity, opposed to Natasha who found this a tad amusing.

"I will surely win Anthony!"

"Not a chance Goldilocks!"

"We'll see about that, friend." The Norse unfastens his cape, and throws it over Tony. The billionaire starts to flail like a chicken.

"Augh!" Stark trips over the red cloth. Ouch.

"Sir, are you alright?" JARVIS inquires. However, no reply was given.

"I'll get the first aid," Tasha nonchalantly declares.

Thor plops down beside me, Mj_**ö**_lnir in hand. This kid and his goofy smile must be contagious because I'm smiling now. Stark marches up to Thor, with way more bandages upon his already bruised face. His arms are crossed, he is going to be angsting.

"Get out of that seat Thor. I would've won, but you cheated."

"No, your mere mortal skills would not have won. I just took the liberty of hiding your shame when I won. Thus, not wanting to crush your spirit."

"My spirit wouldn't have been crushed!"

"Are you admitting that you knew I was going to win?"

"What? No! Clint!" Tony turns to me with teary eyes.

"The little dude did use his surroundings. I'll give him that." I shrug.

"You made my blacklist," his eyes narrow, "Both of you. Keep that in mind."

I turn to Thor, "Do you think he'll lock us out? He has the authority."

"Anthony's pride may have been damaged, but he is not cruel as to leave us."

"True enough."

Finally, everyone made it to their respective seats. Everything seemed to settle down, quiet chit-chat erupted from the group. It might be a good time to feed my curiosity if everyone is chatting.

"I thought you wanted shot gun Romanov," Cap says to Tasha.

"Just wanted those two to get hyped, so I put on a façade, the end results were satisfying. Besides, I sit there majority of the time. What about you Cap?" Natasha looks up from a magazine she was reading. Where did she even get that?

"My intensions were… likewise." Steve mutters sheepishly.

"I am so glad I fulfilled your_ amusement_," Tony exclaims, "You brutes."

"Oh grow up Stark." Tasha retorts.

I cough awkwardly to grab all the member's attention, plus avoiding another argument to brew. Now that I have the limelight, I ask, "What exactly happened back out on the field?"

Steve clears his throat, getting ready to start a long explanation. Apparently, while he and Black Widow were confronting The Winter Soldier, an outbreak of HYDRA goons began to attack. The four Avengers were ordered to stop HYDRA, while Cap went off to look for Raccoon Eyes who went MIA. The Captain was so focused on finding his friend, that he did not notice Loki zap him with magic. Soon enough, everyone had got hit with Loki's magic. HYDRA retreated when all the members transformed into children, and they all gathered behind that minivan.

"Thor, you have no idea why he was on Earth?" I question.

"None what so ever," the demi-god shakes his head, "I am deeply sorry for the actions of my brother."

"It is alright Thor, you didn't know," Steve assured him.

"Tony and I will run some tests with to see if we can reverse this," Bruce gestures to himself.

"Okay, that sounds like a plan. We're here." I land the Quinjet on the roof.

"JARVIS, initiate Protocol Black List, Phase 1," Tony orders.

"Right away Sir." It might be my imagination, but the seatbelt feels as if it tightened.

"Stark? What are you doing?" I try to unbuckle the seatbelt, the damn thing won't unlock. I look over to Thor, he had the same problem. "Stark!"

Tony types the emergency code to open the hatch. As he trots his way down. "The Quinjet will be in lockdown for 60 minutes." Natasha is genuinely giggling as she waves us good-bye. Steve mentions something about not messing with a Stark. Past experiences, I'm assuming. Bruce wanders up to the cockpit, "I would help. It's just stuff and…" he stares down at his shoes.

"Go Banner, go leave us in our time of need. Like the others," I groan.

Bruce runs towards the exit, and Tony closes the hatch with a sinister leer, "Great, I promise you we'll find a solution. Science awaits!" Bruce shouts.

"Conspirators! Anthony, I thought you were cut from a finer cloth!" Thor yells to the others before the hatch shuts, "Shall we play a game of eyes spying to pass the time?"

"You mean I spy? Sure why not," I reply.

"Awesome." Thor beams brightly, I can't help but smile back and ruffle his hair.

Thor and I begin to play, although my train of thought was wandering elsewhere. I have noticed that the munchkins are all exhibiting immature behavior. Although, we do act juvenile from time to time. However, today it felt different. Natasha's emotions were going haywire, and I mean **haywire**. The only emotions she chooses to display are contempt or gratitude or sympathy. The tranquil Dr. Banner was becoming erratic over science. I can't really tell if he does get excited when he does the science, but he sure showed his inner fan boy. Tony Stark was acting like the king of brats, no, the emperor of brats. Stark has never got on my nerves this much ever since he attempted to make me romance it up with a woman named Barbara Morse. I didn't date her because she wasn't attractive or anything— I had my sights set on someone else. On the other hand, Thor had also changed, but I can't really explain it. The Norse had always been playful, I guess he is becoming… more Thor-like, in a childish way. That only leaves _The Star Spangled Man with a Plan _who is still sane.

"Clinton!" Thor shakes my hand.

"Yeah, what?"

"It is your turn."

"Oh right, I spy with my little eye," I say while I scan our surroundings for an entity challenging enough to be spotted. Until I recognize a certain species of arachnid crawling beneath Thor's dangling feet, "A labyrinth orb weaver spider."

"A spider? That is quite thought-provoking! I assure you I will find it!" Thor begins to look in every direction that the spider was not located in.

I tilt my head back to the head rest, lifting up my phone to look at the time. A mere ten minutes has passed. Stark is probably wreaking havoc on my floor as we play our game of _'Eyes Spying'_. This is going to be the most exhilarating fifty minutes of my lifecycle.

* * *

Author's Note: Okay, I would like to thank all of those who had favourited/followed/reviewed. I honestly did not think this amount of life forms on this planet would like this story. Thank you soooo much.

ᴵ ˢᵗᶦᶫᶫ ᵈᶦᵈ ᶰᵒᵗ ʷᵃᵗᶜʰ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ˢᵉᶜᵒᶰᵈ ᵀʰᵒʳ ᵐᵒᵛᶦᵉ ʸᵉᵗ⋅⋅⋅ and there is a bit of foreshadowing. 50 points to whoever figures that out, even though it is not that difficult to figure who I was writing about.

As always, thank you Capapa for betaing the fic and never letting me give up on this bs story I have manifested.


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